All set for Caribbean Junior Squash Champs

All Jamaica Under-19 boys' squash champion, Jonathan Walker (left) and All Jamaica Under-17/19 girls' champion, Mia Mahfood (second right) pose with Chris Hind (right) general manager of JN General Insurance and Gill Binnie, secretary of the Jamaica Squash Association, at the launch of the 2018 Caribbean Area Squash Association’s Junior Championships which was held yesterday at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston.

Coach of Jamaica's National Junior Squash team Bruce Burrowes says that he is very confident that they can win this year's JN General Insurance (JNGI) Caribbean Area Squash Association's Junior Championships, which will be held at the Liguanea Club in Kingston from July 8-14.

Jamaica finished third at last year's championships, which was won by Barbados, but speaking at yesterday's press launch, which was held at the Liguanea Club in Kingston, Burrowes said that the local players have worked well in their preparation for the championships ,and they were looking forward to the competition.

"I am fairly confident because we have a wide group of ages. We have under-11 all the way up to under-19, and certain categories are more confident than others," said Burrowes.

"We are strong in the Boys' Under-19, Girls' Under-13, and we should be fine in the Boys' Under-15," Burrowes said.

Chris Hind, general manager of title sponsors JNGI, said they were expecting a very exciting championships.

Big competition

"This is one of the big tournaments in our region, and more than 120 athletes will be coming from more than seven countries, and so it is really the pinnacle, and we are going to see our young athletes competing against the very best in the region," Hind, who is also president of the Jamaica Squash Association, said.

"The Jamaica National Group and JNGI is very focused on giving back to communities and nation building, and we believe that squash can be a great tool for the positive development of young people," he added.

Players from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States will compete at the tournament.

All-Jamaica champion and second seed Jonathan Walker will lead the country's charge for the Boys' Under-19 title, where he is expected to face stiff competition from Barbados' Josiah Griffith.

Top performances are also expected from regional 'super girl' Meagan Best of Barbados who holds the Caribbean Under-17 title, as well as the women's crown and her teammate Khamal Cumberbatch, who is ranked number one in the boys Under-17 category.